Summary
One of the major components that has the potential to make any survival horror game memorable is its enemies. Great design in this area can elevate a title and create an excellent experience full of fright, tension, and immersion for players. Remedy Entertainment creative director Sam Lake has described the firstAlan Wakeas “action adventure with horror elements.” ForAlan Wake 2,Remedy has been very open about it being more “traditional” survival horror, closer in line to titles like therecentResident EvilandDead Spaceremakesin terms of tone and gameplay.
Given the above switch in style and the general approach to enemy design the series has taken in the past,Alan Wake 2has all the ingredients in place to make its adversaries stand out in the genre once more. If the sequel is able to capture and improve upon what made them unique and terrifying in the original, it could have the potential forAlan Wake 2’s foes to be remembered as containing some of the best survival horror creatures within and perhaps even beyond the genre.
RELATED:Alan Wake 2’s Enemies Haven’t Lost Their Chattiness
What Alan Wake 2 Needs To Get Right About Its Enemies
The biggestdifference betweenAlan Wake’s enemiesand other survival horror foes is their nature and origin. Instead of zombies, mutated lab experiments, and other such abominations, they are essentially possessed humans. Known as “Taken,” they are otherwise normal people who are under the influence of The Dark Presence, yet still retain much of their personality, albeit violently warped.Alan Wakeexploited the fact that these Taken can communicate intelligibly to great effect. Instead of merely groaning or bumping around, they threatened and taunted Alan in clear speech.
Alan Wake 2could raise the stakes on this aspect by making it much more personal to Alan and his experiences. Having Taken shout at him that he’s a terrible writer, has completely abandoned his loved ones, or is lost forever in The Dark Place would cut deep to the bone of the character, and add a layer of player investment.
SinceAlan Wake 2is leaning full survival horror, other standard genre mechanics could be combined with enemy behavior. Resource management and conservation are often large factors in the genre. The first game was generous with supplies, butAlan Wake 2could focus more on this aspect. A Taken could sneeringly cackle at Alan if he misses it, mocking him for wasting precious ammo, and how bad of a shot he (and by extension the player) is.
A particularly cruel but incredibly effective idea might be for The Dark Presence to manifest a Taken version of Alan’s wife, Alice. This would truly be able to hurt him not just physically but more so psychologically, which would arguably be worse. Similarly,Mr. Scratch could return inAlan Wake 2. Mr. Scratch is Alan’s evil doppelganger, representing his worst and most violent characteristics. Mr. Scratch could serve as a reoccurring villain in the vein ofResident Evil’s Nemesis or Mr. X, as Alan has to desperately escape or outwit his dark counterpart in multiple scenarios throughout the course of the game.
Besides the human-like Taken, the series also had poltergeists; everyday objects supernaturally animated by The Dark Presence. Chairs, tables, etc. would spring to life, hurling themselves at Alan with murderous intent. WithAlan Wake 2’s lighting mechanicalong with its more measured pace being another of its major elements, it could take a cue from something like the mimics in 2017’sPrey. Unassuming items could be better hidden in shadowy areas, requiring players to pay closer attention lest they be caught off guard by them. Anything along these lines would go a long way toward makingAlan Wake 2’s enemies truly terrifying within the survival horror gaming space.
Alan Wake 2releases Jun 11, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
